Pretty Things
by Peter James
Summary: (Sequel to 'You And Your Beautiful Soul') Sirius and Remus discover that sometimes, love is not so simple as 'happily ever after'.
1. I:To Promise You Forever

**Pairing: Remus/Sirius, one-sided Severus/Remus **

**Rating: PG-13 for mild sexuality and language.**

**Warnings: Homosexuality.**

**Full Summary: To be young and in love is a wonderful thing, but life has never treated Remus Lupin and Sirius Black graciously. As Sirius struggles to find his own identity among his confusion, Remus doubts and fears abandonment. Immersed in hiding their feelings, responding to society, Sirius' debate over leaving Clarissa, and Remus feeling left behind, what will it take to make the two boys see that this love is all they need?**

**Author's Notes: One reviewer requested a sequel to 'You And Your Beautiful Soul'. This may not merit any association with its counterpart, but I was inspired to attempt a companion to YAYBS. This is slightly longer than its predecessor, and will contain a more complicated plotline. Enjoy, I hope! **

**Other notes: Many thanks to all the reviewers of 'You And Your Beautiful Soul'.! I have never received so many reviews (save for in response to my first story, which was utter sewage), and it certainly brought me great joy to know that my writing has summoned smiles to other's faces! And special thanks to Sofi, in regard to the additionally sweet nature of her reviews! **

**Pretty Things **

**Chapter 1: I'd Promise You Forever**

**_And I'd give up forever to touch you_**

_**Cause I know that you feel me somehow**_

_**You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be**_

_**And I don't want to go home right now**_

_**And all I can taste is this moment**_

_**And all I can breathe is your life**_

_**'Cause sooner or later it's over**_

_**I just don't want to miss you tonight**_

_**And I don't want the world to see me**_

_**Cause I don't think that they'd understand**_

_**When everything's made to be broken**_

_**I just want you to know who I am**_

_**And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming**_

_**Or the moment of truth in your lies**_

_**When everything feels like the movies**_

_**And you bleed just to know you're alive**_

_**And I don't want the world to see me**_

_**Cause I don't think that they'd understand**_

_**When everything's made to be broken**_

_**I just want you to know who I am**_

_**-from 'Iris', Goo Goo Dolls**_

"Ouch, Padfoot, that hurts." I gasped.

Sirius grunted in reply, seemingly concentrated on his task rather than my complaints. I inhaled sharply despite his gentle ministrations, swallowing a moan of pain.

"Do you want me to stop?" Sirius asked gently, raising his eyes to meet mine.

I bit my lower lip and shook my head in negative answer.

"It won't hurt for long." He soothed.

"I'm used to pain." I responded wryly, relaxing as he stroked my wrist with his right-hand fingers.

Sirius frowned at this, and continued with what he was doing. I concentrated on the soft humming noises that he unconsciously made at times like these, staring up at the ceiling and ignoring the discomfort.

"There. Now, tell me I'm as good as Madame Pomfrey." My love announced, smirking.

I glanced at the bandage tied securely about my hand, keeping the palm straight while the deep gash down the center (which the nurse had healed somewhat, otherwise my left hand would have never moved properly again) healed.

"You're wonderful." I replied truthfully, placing a shy kiss on his mouth.

I was greeted with the familiar glow of warm adoration in his pale eyes, which was solely for those moments when we were alone and allowed to be in love.

Past weeks had gone on in a strange sort of haze, a mist-shrouded passage of equal bliss and melancholy. The wild uncontrolled joy of two people in love and the blanket of sadness that sprung from this exhilaration being kept secret. If I could have, I would have stood on the Astronomy Tower and screamed all my secrets to the world, chucking every one of my lies over the edge to dash against the far-off lawn. But alas, I could not afford such frivolities. Not for myself, or for Sirius. His own happiness was at stake by my imagined revelations, and though we both tired of concealing truth we continued to adhere to the need of secrecy.

When we were forced to sit on opposite sides of the couch, to look at one another in a friendly way devoid of anything but platonic affection, to refuse to touch even more than before for fear of forgetting our facade of brotherhood, the world was horrible. When we lay together in my bed late at night with our Silencing Charm hiding any quiet conversation and gazed at nothing at all, the world was beyond beatitude. A strange paradox, unbroken by the constancy of a love that never was quelled no matter our current emotions.

We had _done_ nothing, true. I suppose that our beginnings in truly devoted friendship had given us a strange sort of advantage. Though we craved touch, to be as close to one another as possible without simply melding irrevocably into one another, we felt no need of sex. Sometimes, Sirius would lie over me and kiss me over and over until I was quite dizzy and nonsensical, hot and confused and loving every moment. Sometimes, I would rest my cheek on his chest as we lay in the grass of a secret spot near the Forest, and he would look at me in this certain way that made my heart beat fast and my eyes fill with fire. And then he would touch my lips gently with fingertips that trembled with barely suppressed desire, and I would smile as the fires smothered in favor of a sort of unspoken agreement. It could not be said that we had left the safe plain of deep slow kisses and hesitant touches. For what reason this was, we did not know, other than we did not feel that we must.

"Moony?" Sirius asked presently, an oddly purposeful tone to his voice.

"Yes?" I answered, watching him intently as I absently fiddled with my bandage.

He reached to still my hand on instinct, and I allowed him to do so.

"Do you love me?"

I stared wordlessly into his face for a moment, searching for the reason that he asked me this question with such uncertainty.

"Of course I do. I have loved you for years, haven't I?"

"Like I love you? So much that I'd so anything at all just to make you smile? Do you care more about me than anything else in the world?"

"Yes." I said softly, earnestly.

Sirius gnawed his lower lip, and I suppressed the sudden desire to capture his mouth and kiss the imprints of his teeth until they had been reabsorbed into the original fullness. I waited patiently for his mind to produce whatever it was he wished to say.

"If I asked you to, would you marry me?"

I frowned slightly, though the implications of his query held nothing other than a pleasant opportunity. Would I have? Would the consequences of such a thing be worth the reward? Yes. Yes I would have married him, if he had asked. Homosexual matrimony was not unheard of in the wizarding world, though it was frowned upon by many (particularly Purebloods, whom had an obsession with carrying on their family bloodlines).

And I didn't care at all, just then.

"Of course." I replied, smiling tenderly at him. "That would make me very happy. Though I am, of course, very happy now."

He smiled in return, and released the hand that he had been grasping all this time.

"I don't remember being happier, ever." This round-about endearment touched my fragile joy, and I wanted to kiss him desperately. But I held myself in check as he continued. "I'll ask again, in a few years. When we are of age. Until then, remember that you have that to look forward to."

I felt the proverbial bottom drop out of the floor, and I forced myself to swallow past the thickening knot in my throat. Sirius actually _planned_ to marry me? I was completely surprised, but not unhappily so. No one had ever loved me this way before, and it seemed almost surreal that after only a month and a half he could care enough to want to bind himself to me. Wizarding marriages are rather finite in comparison to Muggle ones. They mean more, and are not easily broken. We had not been together so long, and already there was future talk of marriage.

_'He has been your best friend for five years, even if he did not love you all of that time.'_ I reminded myself. _'It isn't as if you've only just met.' _

"I haven't upset you, have I?" Sirius asked, anxiously searching my eyes for signs of discomfort.

I felt an adoring smile spread over my features, and in a moment of insuppressible happiness threw my arms about his neck and hugged him tight. I felt him jerk in surprise, but then it was gone and he was embracing me just as tightly as I held him.

"I love you." I whispered contently against his shoulder.

"And I love you." Sirius answered lovingly, his fingers making small circles between my shoulder blades.

I placed a soft kiss on his neck, just below his jawline. I had discovered that I found this area irresistible, and Sirius certainly didn't seem to mind my particular like of it. He abandoned his minute ministrations on my back and raised a hand to cup my cheek, turning my face toward him. We gazed at one another for five beats of our enraptured hearts, with equally loving eyes. Then his lips gently met with mine, soon dissolving into a slowly conducted series of soft kisses.

Without pausing in his worship of my mouth, Sirius waved a hand at the curtains of my bed. They slid closed, creating a safe haven where we would remain undisturbed by an expected visit from James or our other dorm-mates. Everyone knew well not to bother Remus Lupin when his curtains were closed, for that meant he wanted to be alone or was not feeling well. I found it ironic that at the moment I was the complete opposite of both these things.

I sighed softly in contentment as Sirius lips traveled away from my lips and lower. They made their way down my neck, placing gentle wet caresses all along the skin. This was a bit of a milestone, as Sirius had not yet done this sort of thing to me. It was not bothersome, of course. Just new. Sliding his fingers beneath the neckline of my robes, he gently peeled the fabric away to expose my thin shoulder. He never paused in his path of kisses, even as they traveled to my shoulder and became slightly more sensual. My eyes were closed by this time, my head resting against his shoulder and my arms loosely about his waist as I became drunk on the sensation of kisses and the warmth of being loved.

* * *

"Where d'you think Padfoot's gotten to?"

My eyes fluttered open drowsily, a rush of noise coming back to me as I woke from a sound sleep.

"I dunno. Probably off snogging Clarissa or something." James answered Peter's question.

I heard them moving about, never suspecting that Sirius was actually a mere pace away, lying fast asleep with me in his arms.

I wondered about the time. It had been just before dinner when Sirius and I begun our secret activities, and if Prongs and Wormtail had returned it must be late.

"Moony asleep?" I heard James question.

"I think so. He hasn't poked his head out or anything, and the curtains are closed. You know, it's near to that time o' the month."

"Poor Moony. I wish we could help him more. The Animagus transformations are all well and good, but he still has it bloody awful."

I smiled affectionately to myself, touched by the concern in James' voice.

Aside from Sirius, James Potter was most certainly the person that I loved most, even when he acted the fool. Peter, too, was dear to me, though less so due to his slightly leech-like behavior.

It sounded as if they were moving toward the door now, shuffling and making jokes.

"James?" I heard Peter ask, and there was a contemplative tone to his voice. "D'you think maybe Remus is in love with Sirius?"

My heart skipped several beats, and I unconsciously tightened my arms around Sirius' waist. Had I been that obvious? Did I fail to hide my feelings? Oh God, no! This could not be, not so soon! Not them.

"Why would you suppose that?" James replied guardedly.

"I guess... well, he doesn't like Clarissa, for one thing. And he seems a lot more sad since she came around. And... I guess it's the way he treats Sirius. The way he looks at him. I may be wrong, though. What d'you think?"

"I don't think that Moony is in love with Padfoot." James answered, and I breathed once more. A slight pause. "I know he is."

My eyes widened, the breath I had collected leaving in a _whoosh_, and I wanted to leap up and fiercely deny it. Another lie to protect me.

"Oh." Said Peter, and the door closed.

Silence descended upon the room, broken only by the loud beating of my heart.

"It's alright, Moony." Sirius said softly, and I realized that he was awake beside me. "James has known for a long time, I believe. Before I found Clarissa, he used to hint at your feelings, and amazingly in retrospect I think he didn't mind so much. He does not hate you, so be still and don't worry about it."

I nodded, recognizing the truth in this. I had many a time gotten a sense of James being aware of my yearning. While disapproving, he did not fault me for it. But would he hate me if he knew that his best friend since nappies had fallen in love with me in turn?

"Calm down, moonchild. Go back to sleep. You look peaky." Sirius said lovingly, tucking a lock of my wayward tawny hair behind my ear.

Resolving to obey, though I was now far from tired and rather restless, I laid beside him once more. He pulled me close, his arms sheltering me in their strong embrace. I imagined that the world was quiet here, safe. I did not have to be strong in this one small place. No masks, no barriers. Just sun in October and smiles that were sincere. The faint smell of wet dogs and fragrant raspberries and a hint of the forest assaulted my senses, but it was a comforting smell. Sirius' smell, which both the wolf inside me and the boy that housed it associated with comfort. Comfort was a difficult thing to come by, for a werewolf. For a werewolf, and a homosexual one at that.

Lovely. One more thing to set me apart. But then again... if Sirius was with me, could I perhaps learn to care less about the world? I would never be lonely, always loved by someone, and have a person to soothe my worries and the wounds of rejection. I supposed I could weather it.

I closed my eyes, my left hand automatically sliding into his shaggy dark hair. He pressed a chaste kiss to the top of my head, and I felt myself drifting toward a stressful state of dreaming, filled with angry faces and raucous laughter, parents that would not meet my eyes and sneers over any oddity that I possessed. Dusty houses in need of repair, where I walked alone and was encouraged never to touch anything by an often-absent family. A pregnant moon casting a mocking light, shedding her pale glow over a blood-stained hilltop while a wolf howled nearby.

As my dreams progressed, I felt something call to me.

_A hand taking mine, and leading me blindly through the dark landscape. Toward a pinpoint of light that seemed to radiate warmth. I halted, afraid. _

_'What if I can't go in?' I asked. 'Bad things cannot go inside.' _

_But my companion without a face or name or even a definitive form laughed merrily and shook his head, tugging me onward. _

_'You will enter, for I love you.' _

_As we walked, the evils continued to frighten me and reach threateningly to tear at my flesh. I cried out, trying to run. But the formless one who led me held fast to my hand. _

_'Be not afraid. They cannot touch you. They have power only because you believe in them. Because you care what they think.'_

_'They'll hurt me!' I said, trembling._

_The vaguely man-shaped being paused, and then raised his 'hands' to my face. I drew in a sharp breath as he pressed his fingers over my eyes gently, covering my vision. _

_'Trust me.' He whispered, and I nodded my surrender._

_Now that I could not see the darkness and its inhabitants, I was not so afraid. We walked, my companion with his hands pressed over my eyes and his chest a firm presence at my back I was blind, but he protected me from stumbling as he said he would._

_And I was able to leave the darkness. I was._


	2. II:Rise And Fall

**Author's Note: Yay! Behold the Jamieness! ((pets)) There may be a moment of innocent Remus/James, because I cannot refuse the love-triangle influence creeping into my work. But never fear, for Remus will never love another as he does Sirius (and the aforementioned moment _does_ have an actual purpose to the story). Quite a bit of screen-time for Mr. Potter in this chapter. I love James, although he _was_ an incredible idiot at this time in his life. ...Beware, for more than half of this has been scribbled in the last hour. :) My apologies for the haste.**

**Many thanks to: lost and by the wind grieved, Dollface786, Apus-Equuleus, and Hannio for their encouraging reviews! **

**Pretty Things**

**Chapter 2: Rise And Fall**

"Padfoot, please don't..." I whispered breathlessly, arresting the hand that was wandering into dangerous territory.

Sirius, whom had been preoccupied with kissing any patch of my skin that he could find, paused and glanced up at me.

"Moony, why not?"

I swallowed, pushing a hank of my hair from my eyes.

"Because... because... I don't want this to be about that. It is about love."

"And you're afraid that the earnestness of this relationship would become less if we indulged a little." Sirius supplied, understanding my unspoken words.

"I'm sorry." I said softly, biting my lower lip in shame. "Perhaps another time."

Sirius smiled and pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth, a favorite spot of his.

"Shh, don't fret. It's alright. I can wait."

"Really?" I asked. "I can understand if you wish to le-"

His fingers pressed to my lips, stilling my words. Opalescent eyes glittered in the faint moonlight, like chips of the moon reflected on water.

"Don't you even begin that nonsense. I love you, Remus, and I think that abstinence is a small price to pay for a lover as wonderful as you."

"Hardly. But I will take your word for that."

"What is this 'hardly'? You _want_ to have sex?"

"Certainly not!" A blush rose in my face. "I mean to say, not yet. We are still young, and I remain a bit... scared, I suppose."

"Of me?"

"No. Never of you. I'm scared of... losing things. Once it happens, there is no turning back time and reclaiming our childhood. And besides, can't I become pregnant if we are not careful?"

Sirius nodded, his expression surprised. I guessed that he was taken aback at my knowledge of wizarding pregnancies.

"Moony, I accept your decision completely, but just to inform you: If you were to get with child, I would stay right beside you and try my best to be a good father. And I'd marry you promptly, no matter what those buggery parents of mine had to say."

A true smile blossomed on my features, and I kissed the fingers that remained resting against my mouth. "I haven't a clue how I managed to catch you. It's not everyday that such a bright star falls in my lap." I said.

Sirius grinned, and hugged me close. "You're incredible. If I ever ignore you again, even for a moment, please shove me into the lake."

I laughed and buried my nose in his long sable hair.

"Silly boy. I would never push you in a lake. Unless you wanted me to, of course." I murmured against the musk-scented strands of midnight silk.

"Ha ha, then I'd have a reason to pull you in as well. And believe me, you look gorgeous when wet."

"Pssah. What a ridiculous thing to say. I'm so skinny!"

"You're a waif, true, but it is very becoming."

I made a disbelieving noise into his shoulder, and then giggled as I felt his tongue lap gently at the spot where my pulse beat steadily. So like a pup, my Sirius.

"For the first time in my life, I feel very, very lucky." I sighed contently.

Sirius chuckled, and nuzzled my cheek with his slightly upturned nose.

"You never felt lucky before?"

"I suppose I did, to a certain degree. But not quite like this." I replied contemplatively.

"Maybe you were just wishing on the wrong star."

"That must have been it." I agreed, spying through a crack in the curtains the single star that shone through the narrow space between fabric.

Sirius. The Dog star.

Silently, I made one more wish.

_'I wish moments like these would last forever.'_

* * *

The gray morning light cast shadows into corners, converging with the fleeing night and my equally departing lover. I wished that he could stay, as Juliet longed for her Romeo to not be gone so soon. This practice came and went with each night, a longing for the company that must be broken each day before dawn. Neither of us wanted to leave the warmth and comfort of one another, but for secrecy's sake we must. 

"You're sure you don't need me here?" Sirius asked for what I guessed to be the sixth time.

I smiled up at him as he knelt over me, my fingers sliding through the long ebony hair that curtained his handsome face.

"Of course I'm sure. You needn't baby-sit me, Padfoot. I can sleep without you for a few hours."

Sirius flashed a small hesitant grin.

"It's not like you'd get much _sleep_, anyway."

"Sirius Black!" I scolded playfully, swatting his bare arm.

He laughed softly and leaned down to kiss my forehead.

"If we're going to be married, you ought to at least learn not to be squeamish about my lecherous behavior."

"Unless I am very much mistaken, you're a virgin." I said skeptically.

Sirius arched an eyebrow.

"And so are you. Or did greasy old Snape shag you in some broom closet?"

"Sirius!" I growled, glaring.

The corners of my companion's mouth twitched, attempting and failing to suppress a smile of mirth. Sirius knew that I hated to be teased about my tentative friendship with Severus Snape, as even I had noticed the Slytherin's peculiar behavior regarding me (also known as acting as if he fancied me).

"Leave poor Severus out of this conversation. And please don't put 'shag' and 'Snape' in the same paragraph." I reprimanded more gently.

"I wholly agree. Nasty rubbish thought, that."

"Not to mention that sex isn't a subject to be taken lightly. I am not sure why it seems to pop up in our conversations so often."

Sirius' smile left abruptly and he reached out to cup my cheek in his hand.

"I'll be your first, _right?_"

"Why would you even ask? Wasn't I just a few hours ago denying you for that very reason?" I replied, somewhat disgruntled and yet also touched over his possessiveness.

His wide opalescent eyes pleaded for an answer, if only to hear the words aloud.

"Of course, Sirius. Of course you will be." I reassured.

A relieved grin spread over his features.

I felt a strange pang of hurt, wondering why it was that he seemed so unsure of my sincerity. He _knew_ that I loved him, did he not?

"You had better get into your own bed. James might have another of his sudden bathroom urges." I said softly, tearing my gaze away from my best friend with effort.

"Right." Sirius agreed, and from the edge of my gaze I could see that there was a glaze of sadness frosting his pale eyes.

I turned my head to gaze fully at him once more.

"I love you, Padfoot. Please know that. I am not sure what to say to convince you, and really I believe that it is up to you to convince yourself. All I can do is _mean_ _it_ when I say _I love you_."

Sirius swallowed, his thumb brushing against my lips in that intimate way that foretold a kiss.

"I know you do."

Dipping his head down, he placed a lingering kiss on my mouth. I accepted and returned it, knowing that soon I would forget precisely how it felt... but never how wonderful this was.

We parted ways, and the few feet between our beds felt like a distance of leagues. I walked with him to his own four-poster, kneeling on the coverlet and pressing a gentle kiss to his soft lips as he settled inside the blankets. He clung to my fingers until the distance became too great, and we were forced to relinquish our touch as I retired to my own bed.

I lay in the cooling sheets, watching the golden veil of sunlight begin to dust the tops of the Forest. I wondered if Sirius lay awake, also. Thinking thoughts as I did, of wonderment and ache and all the silly things that could be found so endearing. But I could not look to see if he was contemplating, for then I would be overtaken by a wistful yearning that could not be satisfied while we lay silent and apart.

* * *

"Moony! Moooonnyyyy!" 

I groaned and burrowed beneath my blankets like a pursued rabbit down his hole.

"Oi, you've slept since yesterday evening! You can't possibly be tired!" James continued enthusiastically, tugging at the scarlet quilt that I was so desperately clinging to.

"I hate morning people." I grumbled, shoving blindly at my friend's nimble form.

James dodged my resistant flailing with well-practiced ease.

"And I hate you buggers that just lay about all day." My friend replied tartly, issuing a sharp poke to my shoulder.

"Mrmph." I protested, rolling away from his seeking hands.

"Jamie, for Gods-damned sakes, SHUT UP!" Sirius shouted from the next bed over, his disposition even less pleasant than mine in the early hours.

"No. You may have spent all night snogging your lass, but Remus can have no more sleep! It's time to get up on this lovely Thursday morning!"

"James." I whispered, summoning with great regret my acquired gift for deception. "I'm not feeling well."

At the soft, weak tone of my voice, I felt James relax and lower his arms.

"Okay, Moony. I'll come back later."

I smiled sadly within my cocoon on blankets, reflecting that James could be very gentle when he wished to be. Perhaps if he had displayed more often this facet of his personality, Lily would have been less inclined to hex him. I silently apologized for lying to my dear friend, and swore silently to compensate for this sacrilege.

"DON'T YOU DARE! I'M BLOODY TIRED!" Sirius screamed, his tones of distress softened slightly by the thick cloth shrouding my fetal-curled form.

"Leave Sirius be. I woke him with my nightmares last night." I said, poking my head cautiously from within the blankets.

James stopped in mid-smack of Sirius' rumpled dark head, his hazel eyes questioning behind his spectacles.

"You're a bunch o' dunderheads." Prongs sighed, wilting to the floor as if we had deprived him of his livelihood.

"That we are." I yawned, flopping backward onto my pillows and shutting my eyes tight against the rude sunlight.

Sirius made an indignant noise, but offered no comment besides.

I was still rather fatigued, however I found sleep to be far from my grasp. James had wakened me, and now I couldn't fathom even ten minutes more. I scrubbed my aching eyes with fists that I was sure had bacteria from more than one person's saliva all over them. This thought made me pause, and I chose to blink the sleep away instead.

"Are you getting up?" James asked hopefully (from some place on the floorboards).

"Fatigue is not to be reckoned with, but neither is my sleep cycle. I'm awake." I responded sadly.

My late-hour companion, however, was lying half out of his bed and deep in slumber.

"I think if we let him _have_ a sleep cycle, he'd be permanently comatose." James commented, thumping the top (or rather bottom, as his head was hanging over the edge of the bed) of Sirius' skull.

"MYARR! I didn' do i'!" Sirius yelped, abruptly springing into a sitting position.

His wide gray-blue eyes were half-lidded and puffy with sleep, and his shaggy hair in a worse state than James', but I was certain I'd never seen anything more beautiful.

I flushed when he began to stare at me, realizing that I had been transfixed. James, who remained spread-eagle on the floor, raised a hand to point at me.

"Blushing, Moony. Blushing like a schoolgirl."

I scowled, searching the dormitory for something else to gaze at, while Sirius hid a fond grin.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" James asked me lightly, his mouth filled with half-chewed toast. 

"Close your mouth, Prongs." I ordered automatically, and my friend complied obediently.

When he swallowed properly, the back of his hand pressed to my brow. I felt a mighty blush rise in my cheeks, as he leaned close to examine my face.

"You look a little pale." James commented in a worried tone.

"I'm _always_ pale, Jamie." I reminded, though my attention was more focused on his narrow hazel eyes and their warm glass-like sparkle.

"Hmm..." James responded, his nose nearly touching mine as he frowned at me. "You're sure you shouldn't stay in bed today? You may get ill if you aren't careful. Unless you already are?"

"I'm completely well, Prongs." I breathed, wishing he would withdraw before I found myself doing something foolish.

"If you're sure..." James assented, letting his hand drop as he sat back.

I inhaled deeply, uncomfortable with the warm electricity that was humming through my veins. I felt guilty for it, as if I were a whore throwing myself at the most easily accessible men (which happened to be my two best friends). As I raised my guilty eyes from my lap, I met Sirius' eyes at the opposite side of the table. I managed a tender smile, which he returned weakly. My intuition told me that he was thinking more of my reaction to James than was the truth. I would have to speak with him at a later date.

Or not.

My fork slipped from my fingers oh-so-accidentally, and I scuttled under the table to retrieve it. I took a great risk with this sudden plan, but I was willing to take a gamble. I crawled quickly across the distance to the other side of the table, and touched Sirius' knee to capture his attention. His leg jerked on impulse, but was soon followed by the triple-tap of his foot that meant he was listening.

"Don't worry. Whatever you are thinking is most likely an overreaction. I love you." I whispered, my quiet tone lost among the loud talk of the other students.

But Sirius heard me, as I knew he would. Another triple-tap, signaling that he had received the message. Smiling hopefully, I left him and emerged from beneath the table with lost fork in hand.

Settling into my seat, I glanced across the table at the beautiful young man that I loved so deeply. He smiled, the puppyish grin that I knew well, and I returned the fond look. I was forgiven for my moment of strangeness, whatever it might have been worth. To others, our smiles might have appeared to be a simple exchange of silent greetings between friends.

But to Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, it spoke volumes.

**Author's Note To Readers: Despite that I have the plot pre-planned to some extent, I surmised that it might be exciting to request response from the readers. Is there anything in particular that you might like to see in this story? Some occurance, complication, or bit of fluff? I would very much like to hear from you:)**


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